Ficlet 40: Happy Anniversary
by CloakedHestia
Summary: A YoBling/Sandle story about stuffed animals and celebrating anniversaries. Romantic fluff inside and not just in the teddy bears I mention . Not set in canon.


Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. I am simply a humble fan and writer.

A/N: Wow, the big 4-0. And I'm commemorating it with another Catherine/Warrick story. What can I say, these seem to be popular. There's also Greg/Sara romance in here. This is a 'what if' scenario where Catherine and Warrick are dating long enough to celebrate an anniversary. There's a slight reference to Ficlet 30 (though it's not necessary to read that). See if you can spot it.

**Ficlet 40: Happy Anniversary**

"The blue one. You look good in blue."

"That's what Warrick says," she twirled around.

The mall was not exactly what Sara figured to be a good place to hang out and bond but Catherine wanted her help in picking out a suitable outfit to wear on her anniversary date with her boyfriend, Warrick.

"Well, why didn't you bring him instead of me?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Hope he remembers your anniversary. One year."

"One incredible, amazing year! How can he forget?" She grabbed the dress and headed for the cashier.

"Okay, Catherine. I'm just saying because Greg had to be reminded about our six month anniversary a few days ago. Lucky for him I don't put much pressure on that."

"That's not what I heard," she paid the cashier while talking with Sara, "I heard you were pretty mad at him for not remembering your six month anniversary."

"Where did you hear that?!"

"Warrick," she smiled.

"Well, despite what he says, I was calm about it. Remembering dates and numbers don't make up a relationship. The fun times you spend together is what matters!"

Catherine nodded absent mindedly, "Sure. Now, should I get some new shoes?"

The two women finally got home, having a few more bags than Sara thought they would have. Turned out Catherine needed many new things - most of them being accessories.

"We didn't need to buy three different sets of lingerie, did we?"

Catherine smiled and brought them upstairs, Sara lagging behind.

Sara passed what she figured was Lindsey's room. It was a little different than what she pictured, instead of some pink or flowery wallpaper, the room was mutely painted in a dark teal with a few posters scattered around on the walls.

As soon as she entered the other woman's room she was surprised to see quite a few flowers on her dresser and her window sill. The biggest surprise was a shelf specifically devoted to over two dozen stuffed animals. It was not something she anticipated, in fact she almost expected Catherine to say they were in the wrong room.

"Just put the bag on the bed. I'll organize it later."

Sara obliged, still wondering about the teddy bears and plush animals. One lone bear was sitting beside Catherine's nightstand.

"Cath, can I ask… what's with all the stuffed animals?"

She looked around unfazed, "Oh. Well, over the months Warrick brought me a teddy bear here, or a stuffed doll there. He's really strong and he'd win me a ton of prizes at the carnival." She was smiling dreamily.

"Uh huh," she pointed at the little white bear on her nightstand. "Looks like this little fellow strayed away from the rest of the group on the shelf."

"That one has a special place in my heart." She walked over and opened a drawer, carefully taking out a card and handing it to her. Sara read the words; _'You are the woman of my dreams, will you go out with me?'_

"This was how he asked me out. He gave me this bear and this card in the lab, which is why I can't imagine that he would forget something so important like this."

Sara smiled and understood, noting how Catherine was grinning from ear to ear.

"I hope you have a great evening, Cath. If you want, you could call and tell me how it went," Sara waved goodbye and let herself out.

""""""""

"Hey, Sar."

"Hey, Greggo," She found him sitting on her couch, and reading a magazine.

"Are you reading Cosmo?"

"I never realized how many sex tips there were in this thing! I'll pay for a subscription… for you."

Sara laughed and joined him on the couch, "I'm sorry I was mad that you forgot our anniversary."

"You were mad?"

"I wasn't speaking to you… didn't you notice?"

Greg put down the magazine and looked embarrassed, "Uhhh… yeah. Sure I did."

She gave him a displeased look, but before a fight could erupt, he jumped up and grabbed something from behind his back.

"I was meaning to give you this as an apology after I forgot our six month anniversary. It's my stuffed lion."

She blinked, looking carefully at the semi-worn stuffed lion with a rainbow mane.

"I hope you don't think I'm doing this so you won't be mad. But if it works, I won't complain," he laughed at his own attempt to ease her ire.

"This lion was yours?"

"I had it since I was six, and it always helped me when I was sad or upset."

She felt her exasperation melting, "Does it… have a name?"

He seemed to look a bit embarrassed, "Well, you're welcome to change it but I used to call him Spiky… because I used my hair gel on him and he rocked the spiky hair."

"I like it. Spiky suits him fine," Sara smiled and held the lion close to her. "Thanks Greg. I appreciate this. I really do."

He relaxed and looked quite thrilled. She accepted something that meant so much to him, and he was glad she appreciated it. His lion was in good hands.

"So… do you still want that subscription of Cosmo? We can skip to the good parts."

"Shut up, Greg," she whacked him lightly over the head with Spiky.

--

_So, for those who were paying attention, can you guess the ficlet 30 reference? Hint: the stuffed bear Hope the YoBling and Sandle fans liked it. This is as close to a sequel as you're gonna get from me! Review if you can, and thanks for reading._


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